Chapter 6 Pragmatics

The fifth Week

Key points
The definition of pragmatics Micropragmatics

difficulties
Reference Deixis Anaphora presuppostion

6.1 Introduction
Pragmatics is the study of the
relationships between linguistic forms and the users of those forms. In this threepart distinction, only pragmatics allows humans into the analysis. The natural realization is that grammatical analysis alone is not enough.

The difference between grammatical analysis and pragmatic analysis

First, grammatical studies look for rules while pragmatic studies look
for principles. Rules are black and white, i.e. you are either right or wrong. For instance, you have to say He studies linguistics; the s is required by a rule. Principles are not black and white; you can obey them to some extent and violate them to some extent. For example, one principle says we should tell the truth and another says we should be polite in our speech. Secondly, in grammar studies, we end up with products while in pragmatics we always deal with processes. In other words, after we have analyzed a sentence grammatically, our job is done; in a pragmatic inquiry, we deal with an ever-unfolding process-as the discourse goes on and on, the extra meaning of some words become clearer and clearer.

6.2 Micropragmatics
Phenomena such as reference, deixis,
topics in this field.

anaphora and presupposition, are the

Definition of macropragmatics
The studies look deep into the
mechanisms by which speakers writers encode their message in skillful ways and how hearers\readers arrive at the intended meanings in spite of the differences between the literal meaning and the intended meaning. This approach of study is called macropragmatics.

6.2.1 Reference
Words themselves dont refer to anything,
people refer. Reference is thought as an act in which a speaker, or writer, uses linguistic forms to enable a listener, or reader, to identify something.

The categories of referring expressions

Referring expressions
(1) proper nouns (2) definite nouns (3) indefinite nouns (4) pronouns

Three-dimensional diagram
Speakers------ reference------ intention Listeners------ inference-----interpretation Sense---reference---referent Word---meaning---entity

The examples of inference

(1) a. Where is the fresh salad sitting? b. Hes sitting by the door. (2) a. Can I look at your Shakespeare? b. Sure, its on the shelf over there.

Logical understanding between reference and inference

These examples make it clear that we can use names
associated with things (salad) to refer to people and names of people (Shakespeare) to refer to things. The key process here is called inference. An inference is any additional information used by the hearer to connect what is said to what must be meant. In example (2), the hearer has to infer that the name of the writer of a book can be used to identify a book by that writer. In pragmatics, the act by which a speaker or writer uses language to enable a hearer or reader to identify something is called reference.

Referential and attributive uses

60Donnellan
,(attributive use) (referential use)

Examples of referential and attributive uses

a. Theres a man waiting for you. b. He wants to marry a woman with lots
of money.

6.2.2 Deixis
Deixis means pointing via language. Any
linguistic form used to do this pointing is called a deictic expression. Words like here, there, this, that, now and then, as well as most pronouns, such as I, we, you, he, her and them are deictic expressions.

Deictic center: the time of the utterances time; the place of the utterances place, the person just giving the utterance

Near speaker away from

speaker Proximal This, here, now distal that, there, then

(1) Youll have to bring that back tomorrow, because they arent here now.

Our of context, we cannot understand this

sentence because it contains a number of expressions such as you, that, tomorrow, they, here and now which depend for their interpretation on the immediate physical context in which they were uttered.

Classification of deixis
Deixis:
person deixis Spatial deixis Temporal deixis Discourse deixis Social deixis

Five types of deixis.

(1) Person deixis: Any expression used to point to a

person: me, you, him and them. (2) Time deixis: words used to point to a time: now, then, tonight, last week and this year (3) Space/spatial/place deixis: words used to point to a location: here, there and yonder (4) Discourse deixis: any expression used to refer to earlier or forthcoming segments of the discourse: in the previous/next paragraph, or Have you heard this joke? (5) Social deixis: honorifics (forms to show respect such as Professor Li)

6.2.3 Anaphora () (Anaphoric reference)

In most of our talk and writing, we have
to keep track of who or what we are talking about for more than one sentence at a time, we use anaphoric reference.

(1) A: Can I borrow your dictionary? B: Yean, its on the table.

Here, word it refers back to the word
dictionary. The previous word dictionary is called the antecedent (), and the second word it is called the anaphor or anaphoric expression.

Anaphor and antecedent

In English, initial reference,, or introductory
mention, is often indefinite (a man, a woman, a cat). In the example the definite noun phrases (the man, the cat, the woman) and the pronouns (it, he, her, they) are examples of subsequent reference to already introduced referents, generally known as anaphoric reference, or anaphora. In technical terms, the second or subsequent expression is the anaphor and the initial expression is the antecedent.

Cataphora
Cataphora: I turned the corner and
almost stepped on it. There was a large snake in the middle of the path.

Zero anaphora, or ellipsis

Cook for three minutes.

Indirect anaphora or bridging reference

(2) I walked into the room. The windows looked out to the bay.

Antecedent

anaphor

Indirect anaphora or bridging reference

6.2.4 Presupposition
A presupposition is something the
speaker assumes to be the case prior to making an utterance, symbolized by >>. Speakers, not sentences, have presuppositions.

presupposition triggers
In any language, there are some
expressions or constructions which can act as the sources pf presuppositions. This kind of expressions or constructions is called presupposition triggers.

The following are some examples, where the presupposition triggers themselves are italicized

(1) Definitive descriptions John saw the man with two heads >> There exists a man with two heads. (2) Factive verbs John realized that he was in debt >> John was in debt. (3) Change of state verbs Joan began to beat her husband >> Joan hadnt been beating her husband. (4) Iteratives The flying saucer came again >> The flying saucer came before. (5) Temporal clauses While Chomsky was revolutionizing linguistics, the rest of social science was asleep >> Chomsky was revolutionizing linguistics. (6) Cleft sentences It was Henry that kissed Rosie >> Someone kissed Rosie. (7) Comparisons and contrasts Carol is a better linguist than Barbara >> Barbara is a linguist. The negative form of the above sentences has the same presupposition.

Assignments


I. Define the following terms briefly: (1) pragmatics (2) deixis (3) reference (4) anaphora (5) presupposition II. What are the deictic expressions in the following utterance? Im busy now so you cant do that here. Come back tomorrow. III. What are the anaphoric expressions in the following utterance? Dr. Dang gave Jane some medicine after she asked him for it. IV. What is one obvious presupposition of a speaker who says: (1) Where did he buy the beer? (2) Your watch is broken. (3) We regret buying that car.